HEREFORD United’s Harry Pell has said that the team’s ‘confidence is high’ ahead of Saturday’s derby clash with rivals Shrewsbury Town, which kicks off at the earlier time of 1pm on police advice.

Having lost 3-1 at Greenhous Meadnow earlier in the season, Pell believes that it’s Hereford’s turn to get one over their rivals.

“Obviously we underperformed at their place earlier in the season,” said the former Charlton midfielder. “We are a lot stronger and a lot more positive now.

“We have ground out results in the past few weeks without playing that well and it’s certainly time for a performance to go with those results.”

Pell has found his way back into the team after a few weeks out of the side and has admitted that he has been slightly frustrated over the past month.

“I’ve found it difficult,” he said. “But I am back now and fully committed to the cause. We are training well and the whole squad has more confidence.

“We are now focusing on the positive aspects of our game rather than the negatives in training. We are working hard to improve and we seem to be doing so as our recent results show.”

Hereford have lost four A49 derbys in a row against Shrewsbury and Pell has promised fans that United will be well and truly up for the battle.

“We know how much this fixture means to the fans and we would love to get a victory for them,” he said. “It will be tough as Shrewsbury are doing well in the league but with the fans’ support hopefully we can turn the tables and get a positive result.”

Hereford will definitely be without Benoit Dalibard (suspended) and Simon Clist (injured groin) for the game and may be without club captain Stefan Stam who picked up a knee injury last weekend.

Shrewsbury will be without their leading scorer Marvin Morgan and defenders Reuben Hazell and Shane Cansdell-Sheriff for their trip to Edgar Street. Ex-Bulls Lionel Ainsworth, Aaron Wildig and Steve Leslie are all available for selection.

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